Audio Video News

Absent from the market for more than half a year, Aragon audio products have come back with a bang. Indianapolis-based Klipsch Audio Technologies, one of the oldest and most respected names in American audio, acquired Mondial Designs, maker of both the Aragon and Acurus brands, in a friendly buyout early this year.

Six new Aragon products made their official debut at the CEDIA Expo 2001, held the first week in September in Indianapolis. Making good on Klipsch's promises to pursue the home theater market, five of the new items are amplifiers with THX® Ultra certification; one is a preamplifier/processor with THX Ultra certification. The products represent Klipsch/Mondial's first ventures into THX certification and seven-channel amplification, according to Mondial co-founder Paul Rosenberg. They also include Aragon's first 300-watt five- and two-channel amplifiers, and its first preamplifier/processor supporting 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1 decoding for DTS-ES and THX surround EX.

Aragon products are derived from an audiophile philosophy that eschews circuitry for its own sake in favor of more elegant designs, Rosenberg said, emphasizing that the engineering and financial resources provided by the merger will benefit a new generation of home theater fans. "With Klipsch resources, we’ve been able to give our Aragon line fresh new cosmetics as well as add the marketing prowess and performance of THX certification," he explained. "The new models deliver high power output with a simplified user interface from a minimalist design. People expect sophisticated, high-performance Mondial equipment that features one-touch, easy operation." The new and refreshed models shown at CEDIA surpass those expectations, he added.

The six new Aragon models that debuted at CEDIA Expo 2001 include:
• Aragon Stage One, THX Ultra Certified surround sound preamplifier/processor supporting 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1 decoding for DTS-ES and THX surround EX
• Aragon 2002, THX Ultra Certified 200-watt two-channel amplifier
• Aragon 2005, THX Ultra Certified 200-watt five-channel amplifier
• Aragon 2007, THX Ultra Certified 200-watt seven-channel amplifier
• Aragon 3002, THX Ultra Certified 300-watt two-channel amplifier
• Aragon 3005, THX Ultra Certified 300-watt five-channel amplifier

Also debuted were "second generation" versions of previous Aragon products, including the 28K Mk II two-channel preamplifier, the 8008 Mk II two-channel amp, the Phonostage phono preamplifier, and the Palladium 1K differential monoblock amplifier.